Joe Jr wanted to travel to New Zealand and Australia to watch the FIFA Women's World Cup which was to take place from late July to late August. We don't need a major excuse to travel to that region. Our trips did not fully overlap for various reasons. As a United Premier 1K member, I got offered award flights in business class to Melbourne for 80,000 miles, so I grabbed that for Anne and myself. Joe on the other hand wanted to first travel to New Zealand, so he bought cash tickets on Air New Zealand, with the skycouch option. Anne and I would spend a few days in the Melbourne area, and then fly to Auckland to meet up with them for a few days. I would then travel to Brisbane for a couple of days, and meet up with everyone else in Sydney a day after the travel to Sydney. Anne would joke she didn't understand why she was going to all these places, but was fine with it.
7/26 Wednesday. We Uber'd to Newark for our 4:30 pm flight. When we got there we found out our flight was going to be delayed due to late inbound aircraft. A bit of a lame excuse as plane landed about 2 hours prior to our flight. At about 4:30 pm, the gate agent announced that the plane was being towed from Terminal B, and would be needed to be cleaned and security-checked before boarding. All said and done, it was about 7 pm that the plane took off. The flight was full, and both Anne and I thought we were not offered "snack for purchase" along our aisle. We were in seats 31A and B, with a tall Dutch man in 31C - he was on vacation with his family of four. The flight was relatively short, about 4:30 hours, although the taxi to the gate was quite long.
The Polaris Lounge was nearby (LAX Terminal 7 is quite compact), so we made our way there. It's relatively small compared to the ones in Newark and San Francisco, and was very quiet as most evening flights had departed by then.
Business class on our LAX-MEL flight had quite a few empty seats (perhaps that's why United offered these saver awards). I was again "forgotten" during the breakfast service; this time I made sure I brought that to the flight attendant's attention.
Snack at EWR Polaris Lounge.
UA1326 was scheduled for 4:30 pm departure.
Dinner was fish on UA98 LAX-MEL.
I did watch one movie: John Wick 4. Since the protagonist died, I guess this would be the last one. Overall not a bad flight, and I got a couple of hours of sleep in. Feeling a headache coming on, I took some Tylenol during the long flight.
One final gripe: on the EWR-LAX flight the storage bins in the center could not accommodate carryons lengthwise, it was a 777. The LAX-MEL flight used a 787, and the center bins were long enough. One would think it's not technology but design that made the difference.
7/28 Friday. Our plane had to slow down as MEL was quite congested. We landed at 7:48 am, about 20 minutes behind schedule. From FlightStats it appears most international flights would have gotten in before us. I wondered if we would be in long queues at immigration/customs, or the earlier passengers would have gone through the system. Happily, it was the latter; there were some small crowds, but no long lines in sight.
This was our first time clearing customs in Melbourne (or it had been for over thirty years) so we didn't know what to expect. Turned out to be a similar experience as my recent Brisbane trip. First we went to these kiosks to have our passports scanned, we were then issued tickets that let us go through the automatic gates. We declared on the custom forms that we had some food items on us, so had to go to the inspection line. After informing the agent we had "bread, instant coffee, and energy bars" with us, we were waved through. The whole process took less than 30 minutes, and we walked at a leisurely pace.
With time on our hands, we had coffee and pastry at Hudson's at the rather small international terminal. Uber works differently at this airport. I used the APP to confirm the destination and the charge, then stood in line for the next available car, giving the driver the confirmation number provided by Uber. It worked quite well,
Front desk mentioned their regular check in time was 3 pm, but gave us our room anyway. And we were upgraded to a harbor view suite ("suite upgrade nights" did most of the work).
After resting for a bit, we took a tram to Central Station area. This was followed by a visit to NGV (National Galleries Victoria). This time I appreciated it more than my last visit.
At Melbourne Airport, you get a confirmation PIN after the Uber ride request process is completed. You then join a queue (which moved pretty fast) for the next available car, show the driver the code, and off he goes. Suggested tip amount by the APP for a ride costing approximately A$50? $1, $3, or $5.
Docklands as viewed from our hotel room. The towers on the Bolte Bridge were there so the structure can stake its claim as the tallest bridge in Australia.
Melbourne has an extensive tram network. Rides within the CBD (Green Zone) are free. Our hotel in Docklands fall within the zone. The Melbourne Museum (upper right hand corner in this map) is one stop away. We would find out later that one stop costs about A$5.
Federation Square.
We had lunch at a cafe nearby. One can say USA culture has influence all over the world. The restaurant is called New York Minute. Service wasn't quite that fast, but quite fast.
St. Paul's Cathedral. Last time I didn't go in.
Skyline of Melbourne downtown as seen from the Yarra River. Melbourne recently became the largest city in Australia. Frankly I find it difficult to believe. Its population of 4,875,400 (per The Guardian, 2021) was 18,700 more than that of Sydney. The last time it was the most populous was in 1905.
National Galleries of Victoria.
I didn't know I had museum quality art at my house.
The region is caught up in football craze while FIFA Women's World Cup matches are being played in the area.
This wheel is called the Melbourne Star. It has been closed since September 2021. A previous one was dismantled after being in operation for a couple of years as design flaws resulted in cracks in the structure.
The shopping center right across the street (called The District) also had a few restaurants, which gave us convenient food options. A Woolworth's grocery store is also nearby. I was a bit worried that the hotel would be inconvenient to get to, turns out it is at a nice location.
Accommodations: Four Points Melbourne Docklands. (3 nights).
7/29 Saturday. As a Platinum Bonvoy member, we got offered free breakfast, which we enjoyed.
We booked ourselves on the 2-hour Yarra River cruise on Melbourne Cruises. The itinerary is basically 30 minutes in one direction, return, and 30 minutes in the other direction. Today was a nice day for such an activity, and we did get to appreciate how nice the city was. (Still not convinced about its being the largest Australia city). I later found out I took a similar cruise (offered by Yarra Cruises) last time I visited, although that trip was by myself.
We were quite interested in this restaurant called "Duck Me" (!). It wasn't open, so we ate at China Bar Docklands, in The District. It's a Hong Kong style restaurant, and served good food at reasonable prices.
Melbourne River Cruises at the Yarra River.
Nice day to be out and about, if you don't mind the cold.
The tall buildings in the background are the tallest and one with the highest observation deck in Melbourne. Everyone wants to claim the superlative.
The Seafarers Bridge.
The Goliath is a cement carrier.
At first I thought this huge container ship was called David (as in David and Goliath). Turns out it was Davao, bad eyesight.
Lunch was at this restaurant SuperHiro where you order on the APP and a robot delivers your food. Anne's question is: why are we tipping a robot?
Our lunch.
Sights during our walk around the waterfront behind the hotel.
I wonder what all these pilings are for? Perhaps as foundation for overwater buildings?
Dinner at China Bar, The District, Docklands.
7/30 Sunday. The two popular day trips from Melbourne are the "Penguin Parade" and "The Twelve Apostles." Over the years both trips have been embellished to include other sights, many undoubtedly made accessible by newly built roads. Even though I had done the Apostles trip when I last visited, we thought the Great Ocean Road (the expanded 12 apostles) would be a better choice. The Loch Ard Gorge was closed because of ground instability. I did get to see more of the Apostles because I didn't spend time waiting for a helicopter this time. As with the last Apostles trip, I jotted some notes as the day went on. Here they are, slightly edited:
Early start. Breakfast at hotel can’t take out. Anne grabbed a croissant.7:45 am pickup at hotel worked out okay. Started at 8. Full busGeelong now commuting town.Torquay stop at ~9:15 am. Resumed at ~9:45 am.~10:20 great ocean road arch, beach, resumes at 10:3511:20 Kennet River. Koala, and many birds.12:30 pm Apollo Bay Seafood cafe for lunch. Left 1:15 pm. Also got scallop pie US$8.061:35 pm. Mait’s Rest. 2:05 pm left. Rained quite heavily.One hour to 12A, Gibson Steps, and Loch Ard GorgeGibson steps. Loch Ard Gorge.Left 5:40 pm. Colac at 6:00, KFC, left 6:45. Back to hotel around 9pm.
Some explanatory notes: The tour operator does not pick up from Docklands, so I chose a hotel (Great Southern in this case) that seemed a good compromise. We had to walk a few minutes to a tram station as the schedule didn't work out for the tram outside our hotel. The "nature walk" was at a different place last time (Melba Cully State Park). At Kennet River we may or may not have seen a koala.
Morning tea at Front Beach in Torquay (according to Google Map data).
Interesting house up on the hil.
Great Ocean Road Memorial Arch.
Beach nearby.
Fish and Chips at Apollo Bay Seafood Cafe.
Mountain Ash (Eucalyptus regnans) is native to Victoria and Tasmania.
Not sure I took a picture of it. But the photo below is also time-stamped at 1:50 pm.
This Myrtle Beech?
Giant ferns are common.
Older trees develop these buttresses in the downhill direction.
Understated sign to a great National Park.
Next to the Gibson Steps.
Loch Ard Gorge.
Twelve Apostles. Taken at 4:46 pm (by Anne).
It was a windy day. The helicopters kept flying, though.
7/31 Monday. Time to go to Auckland! But the flight isn't until around 6 pm. Here my Bonvoy status helped as I could get a late checkout at 4 pm.
Clean clothes and laundry are always a problem as our practice is to take carryon luggage only. So I spent a bit of time at a laundromat a few blocks from the hotel to wash our accumulated dirty clothes, getting in some walks along the waterfront while waiting.
Last time I was here I didn't get to see the Melbourne Museum, so we paid a visit this time. Australians have this heightened sensitivity about being on Aborigine land, so signs to that effect are posted all over the museum, some don't make sense to the casual (probably most) visitor.
After lunch at a somewhat "random" Chinese restaurant, we went back to the hotel, packed and took an Uber to the airport.
We ate something at the Air NZ lounge (being a Star Alliance Gold member). I ate enough for dinner, Anne wanted to buy something on the plane but couldn't - they do "preorders only." That wasn't the reason I gave the flight a low rating: the whole experience was just "pack them in, get them there." No non-sense is good, but a bit unsettling when it's so overt. The plane got in around 1 am in the morning, so it was quite late/early when we got out of customs. The Uber pickup area was a few doors down from where we were, so we took a taxi instead. The fare came to NZ$120, a bit higher than I expected. (I took an Uber in the opposite direction a couple of days later, and it cost NZ$55.) It's a good thing that the hotel clerk was ready for us when we showed up, at 2:40 am, per Google Maps Timeline.
FIFA Fever. These banners are all over town. This one at our hotel in Melbourne.
They sailed everywhere on these boats. Not sure their sails actually looked like this - can't imagine their being practical.
Interpretations of these sails which represent Polynesia, Micronesia, and Melanesia.
One would think this is a collection of tools of some archaeological interest. But if you have a degree in the appropriate field, you would come up with an interpretation that is not associated with "a predominately non-Indigenous male perspective." With that in mind, these may not be spears, but digging sticks used by First Peoples' women to dig up food. Who is to say that's not correct?
The "wing," a kinetic sculpture, changes color and flaps. One can find videos of it on the web.
Dinner cobbled together at the MEL Air New Zealand lounge.
The Air NZ Lounge was quite crowded. Priority Pass provided access to "The House" which was very quiet: I saw two other patrons when I popped my head in.
HINT: One thing I notice is that many non-US airlines don't have many boarding groups, and they don't always enforce the cabin bag weight rule. We managed to "smuggle" our carryons (22" roller suitcase and a rather large backpack for me) on most flights, and for this trip I managed to do for my MEL-AKL, AKL-BNE and BNE-SYD flights. When we visited Europe a couple of months ago I asked - and got - permission. This trip I just did it.
Accommodation: Travelodge Wynyard Quarters, Auckland, New Zealand. (3 nights)
8/1 Tuesday. One (perhaps major) reason for Joe Jr to come to this part of the world was to catch some FIFA Women's World Cup matches. The USA vs Portugal match would be this evening. That would also mean we would not be taking long trips out of Auckland.
The Muriwai Gannet Colony is included in most "Top Auckland Sights" list. At its peak 1200 nesting pairs congregate in this area. Joe rented a car so we could pay a visit. The season starts in August, and technically it did this year: we saw 2 flying around. The trail to the nesting area was closed because of hill instability, so we could not go check if there were more sitting on the rocks. Actually Joe talked to a Park ranger who said he only knew about the two.
There was a nice black sand beach, so we spent some time there. We slept for a bit after we got back to the hotel.
Fish and Chips at Auckland Seafood Market.
Well, it's now (now being 8/16) well-known that the US team didn't do very well. My sitting through most of the match didn't improve my view of soccer: a lot of running around for a few moments of excitement. The reviews of the US team's performance were uniformly brutal. Before it all happened the reviewers were singing quite a different tune.
The ticket to the FIFA Women's World Cup game (USA vs Portugal) includes free train rides to and from the venue. We left early, and they were loading the train cars one at a time. Anne was walking with a noticeable limp, yet they would not let her get in an empty car. Luckily she did find a seat. All I can say is that the experience doesn't help NZ's image as an authoritarian country.
Murawai Beach and Gannet Colony. We saw only two gannets.
These are sea gulls and oyster catchers.
Nice black sand beach.
Trying one's best to enjoy the moment.
Well, it would have been nice to see a few penguins.
On our way to catch the train to the stadium.
This is as exciting as it gets for this soccer game.
Guess what team this family supports?
Anne took this when we were walking back to our hotel.
8/2 Wednesday. Today's weather was on the dreary side. As I type this (about 10 pm) the outside temperature is 48F. The morning was in the 50s, but we had periods of sunshine alternating with periods of rain showers. The transition from overcast skies to partly cloudy often happened in a matter of minutes.
The search term "best things to do in Auckland" returned Hunua Falls as one of the top sights, and it's a one hour (about 50 km) drive from our hotel. For whatever reason we had to have the soles of our shoes brushed and disinfected (both to go in and to leave), and it's up to the individual visitor to decide how seriously the instructions are to be taken. One would think one "slip" would negate the good will of all the other travelers.
We took a Fall Loop Path of about 1 km that led up to a high vantage point, then a path straight into the waterfall area. After we got back to town, Joe and I filled up the gas tank in the rental car, returned it, and walked back after we returned the car. It was close to 4 pm.
Dinner was at this Giraffe Restaurant close by. The 10- or so minute walk turned out to quite miserable due to the strong wind and the light rain. We enjoyed our dinner.
They were all focused on the program being played on TV.
Disinfection of shoes is required before and after you visit the park.
Upper Lookout along the Falls Loop provides a nice view of the Hunua Falls.
We could walk right up to the falls. "Swimming not advised." The water was unexpectedly warm.
With reflection.
The wet weather often generated rainbows. This was along the way when we were returning the rental car.
A dozen Pacific Oysters cost NZ$56. Their texture is a bit chewier than most I have tried.
Tomahawk Steak is a 750 gm piece of boned-in steak. Just the right size for Emmie, Harrison, and me to share. Served with vegetables (broccoli, brussels sprouts, and bak choy) and truffle oil fries.
Joe P had the fish and chips. I had a bite so I can add that to my "collection."
8/3 Thursday. Anne left the hotel at around 5:35 am this morning; she will be joining a Hobbiton and glowworm tour with Joe's family. She did that with minimal possible disturbance, or I was simply a heavy sleeper. I also wanted to wake up a bit earlier so housekeeping - which showed up before 9 am yesterday - could tidy up the room.
I left the hotel at about 9:15 am, and walked towards Sky Tower, which (now in "hindsight") Anne and I probably visited when we last visited New Zealand (and photos taken on May 24, 2004 confirm it). I got there around 9:30 am, when it opened, so I decided to give it a go. It still provides a nice view of the city, highlighting the many marinas, and the glass covered openings continue to be unsettling to walk across.
The Sky Tower is a 15-minute walk from the hotel.
Selfie from the Observation Deck. In the background are Park Hyatt (where Joe and family were staying) and Travelodge.
Specifics about the Sky Tower on the elevator door. I was at both the Main Observation Deck and The Sky Deck.\
Looking down from one of the glass cutouts on the Main Deck. I eventually got enough courage to walk over these without holding on to something. 38 mm per plaques displayed, and I just realized that is less than 2 inches. [Note: on the web one can find fascinating videos of lift going down, including ones with cameras placed against the glass-covered opening on the floor.]
Anne and I were in Auckland in May 2004 when Ellie was an exchange student at U of Auckland. This was taken from a similar vantage point as the selfie. A warehouse was where Park Hyatt is today.
That was followed by a visit to the Maritime Museum. Given the location of New Zealand, one would think a lot of history is related to sea-faring. My knowledge of New Zealand history is minimal, and looked it up just now. The first human settlements were believed to be Maoris from Polynesia a mere 1000 years ago, and that the Dutch were the first Europeans to discover it. My limited time only allowed me to glean limited information from the displays.
Given its location, it's no surprise that New Zealand has a strong maritime tradition.
One could go on a 1-hour cruise on the Ted Ashby (2nd boat in this photo). I didn't have time to do that.
Taratai I was a sailboat used in a failed attempt to sail from Gilbert Island to Fiji.
Information on Taratai I and II.
A twin-screw dredging vessel.
For a while many Europeans spent months in these cramped quarters to come to New Zealand.
Team New Zealand has won the America's Cup multiple times.
I got lunch at a cafe near the Britomart Station, then went back to the hotel, packed up, and left for the airport. Passport control and security took 35 minutes, long compared to many other countries I have been to. I managed to grab a snack at the Strata Lounge, courtesy Priority Pass. The flight left about 40 minutes late, but still managed to arrive at BNE 10 minutes ahead of schedule, result of scheduling margins and a relatively short flight time. Alfred was there to meet me. After picking up the hotel key (front desk closes at 7 pm), we joined Rachel, Ling and Wally for dinner at Yum Cha Cuisine.
The pedestrian bridge across the Viaduct Harbor opens up for the recreation vessel to cross. Given the number of superyachts moored, I imagine it does that quite often.
View from outside the Park Hyatt hotel.
Our room at the Travelodge offer a marina view.
We had a "Marina View" room. Not as good a view as from Park Hyatt.
This sailboat (Janice of Wyoming) is close to 40 meters in length.
The Strata Lounge at AKL was quiet when I visited.
Accommodation: Jephson Hotel, Toowong, QLD (1 night).
8/4 Friday. On today's agenda were three meetings. First Andrew P came by the hotel for our usual breakfast when I visit. Not today, as the restaurant was being renovated. Instead we went to a cafe next door; it served similar breakfasts (how many variations can one have?). After breakfast I checked out of the hotel and got a ride to BST from Andrew.
Next I met with Grace, CAC's new director. After which I walked down to Toowong Village to have a meeting over coffee with Terry Leicester. Along the way I stopped for "fish and chips" (fried scallops instead of chips in this case).
Only photo I have to show for the day is this "Fish and Fried Scallops" dish at the Kingfisher Seafood Cafe.
Wally met up with me later that afternoon, and he give me a ride to Bellbowrie. Alfred and Rachel also joined for a meal prepared by Ling.
Meanwhile, Anne and Joe P's family flew to Sydney from Auckland. They checked into Meriton Suites World Tower, I will join them tomorrow.
Accommodation: Ling's house (1 night).
8/5 Saturday. My flight wasn't until the afternoon, so I stuck around Ling's house to have home-made dumplings Ling prepared, using chives grown in her garden, after which she and Wally dropped me off at the airport. Priority Pass offers several dining options at BNE Domestic, but the alliance of United and Virgin Atlantic also gave me lounge privileges, which I exercised. Now Virgin Australia is my favorite local airline.
It was quite easy to get to Meriton from the airport, and I got there in time for dinner, after which Jess, Joe, Emmie and I went to a Sydney Symphony Orchestra concert. While the concert was okay, I am afraid it wasn't as good an experience for Emmie as I had hoped.
Anne spent the morning at the Darling Harbor Aquarium with Joe's family.
The Virgin Australia lounge at BNE Domestic was available to United Mileage Plus gold members.
The Concert Hall at Sydney Opera House is recently renovated. The most noticeable difference is these "petals" over the stage that also reflect what happens on the stage.
With Emmie.
Accommodation: Meriton World Tower (5 nights).
8/6 Sunday. Everyone thought the USA Women's Cup team would dominate the early matches and face its opponent in Sydney today at lunch time. Which would mean prime time in the US. The team will be playing in Melbourne tonight. Joe of course got tickets for the Sydney game, so they ended up watching Netherlands beating South Africa.
Anne and I debated whether to go to Milson's Point Chinese Church or Praise Church in Matraville. We decided on the latter, but decided to skip eventually because of Uber availability problems. Instead we took the bus to East Gardens, and had coffee while waiting for Ruth to pick us up after the service.
Lunch was at Phoenix, with Wan & Marina Cheung, Rev. & Mrs. Lui (Pastor of Praise Church, oops), and Ruth & Stephen. Afterwards we visited Pioneer Memorial Park (new name), where our parents are buried. Ruth and Stephen then came to World Tower until it was time for dinner.
It was good to see almost everyone at the Eight Restaurant in Market City. Too bad Toby wasn't feeling well, so he and Naomi had to stay home.
Lunch at Phoenix Restaurant with Wan & Marina Cheung. Ruth, Stephen, and Rev. & Mrs. Lui were there also.
Visiting my parents' grave at Pioneer Memorial Park. (Used to be called Eastern Suburbs Memorial Park.)
After dinner at Eight in Market City.
Cousins. Or third generation. So I won't forget their names in my old(er) age: Peter, Ryan, Amy, and Josiah.
8/7 Monday. With a scheduled conference call with BST/CAC, I stayed behind while the rest went to Taronga Park Zoo. Anne and I met up at Circular Quay after I am done, and took the ferry to Manly, just to walk along the Corso to Manly Beach. Being winter, things were quite quiet. We met up with the others at the Ferry Terminal when we returned. After taking some pictures together around Circular Quay, I decided to ride the ferry one more time, by myself as no one else thought it was a good idea. The CQ to Pyrmont Bay ferry would do a loop back to CQ, but I got off at Pyrmont Bay and took the tram back. After having dinner at Pepper Lunch (same as the one we frequent in Hong Kong), we stayed with the kids while Jess and Joe went out to dinner.
This is a McDonald's sandwich called "The Cheesy Beef." Per the Macca Australia website, "100% Aussie beef patty, golden cheesy patty, Aussie Jack cheese, lettuce, McChicken sauce and tomato chilli jam - served on a soft bu." Available for a limited time. McDonald's seems to be customizing its offering to specific countries.
Fried fish and potatoes from Manly Seafood. Still filed under "Fish and Chips" in my book.
View coming back from Manly.
We didn't see any cruise ships docked at Circular Quay during our stay in Sydney. This was probably docked at the White Bay Cruise Terminal further up the river.
A fern (cyrtomium per Google) finding a nook to thrive in.
Photo taken at 5:30 pm.
The light completely changed less than 10 minutes later. (Timestamp 5:39 pm.)
Walked past this restaurant with two large boiling pots of water, to make noodles? Don't remember its name, but it is across from Busy Noodle Bar (as seen from the reflection).
8/8 Tuesday. Today was Three Sisters day. As we found out with Ellie's visit a few years ago, the focus of a Katoomba/Three Sisters/Blue Mountains trip is now Scenic World, a transformation over the last few decades that may or may not be an improvement over the "traditional" visits to Three Sisters and Jenolan Caves (I am not even sure the latter exists today).
The Scenic World trip is basically three rides: skyway, railway, and cable car. We did all three, and the kids repeated the railway ride. In between we had a hike of 30 minutes, and one of 10 minutes. Lunch was at the cafe in Scenic World, and I had also a croissant and coffee in the afternoon.
Fish and Chips at the cafe in Scenic World.
For this trip we rental a minivan which turned out to be quite a behemoth (a Hyundai Staria). Joe Jr ended up doing the driving, and managed quite well. He and I went to the airport (domestic) to do the paper work, then we took a shuttle to their temporary Mascot location to pick up the car; after we returned the car, we decided to walk to the Mascot trains station (about 15 minutes away) and took the train back.
For the trip we rented a Hyundai Staria, an eight-passenger minivan, from Enterprise. At about 2 meters tall (see photo below), it's a behemoth. Joe P handled it quite well, although some stretches of roads made the driving nerve-wracking for both the driver and the passengers.
The minivan towers over me. And it barely cleared the parking garage at Scenic World.
Along the way from the Skyway station to Echo Point.
CC and I had fun playing a game of letters.
They were facing the sun, DD evidently was very bothered by it.
Iconic photo of the three sisters. Meehni, Wimlah and Gunnedoo per legend. They stand along the northern rim of the Jamison Valley, and were formed about 200 million years ago.
Selfie practice.
"Ruined Castle," on top of the range in the foreground, is actually a collection of rock formations.
The lyre bird. The males look quite spectacular during mating season. This one was furiously digging at the ground. In one version of the Three Sisters legend, this is their father trying to find the magic stick that would turn them back to humans.
We stopped by Wentworth Falls Lookout on the way back. We didn't have time to explore it.
While we have been to that area many times, it was still a nice trip, and we are certainly happy that the children like it. Along the way CC and I played a game of saying a word, then continue with a word that begins with the letter than ends the prior word. We both enjoyed it.
For dinner Anne and I ate at the Time Square BBQ and Cafe, which serves Hong Kong style food. I hadn't had a Portuguese-style baked pork chops over rice for a long time; it tasted good.
8/9 Wednesday. Our trip is rapidly coming to an end. Anne and I went off for lunch at Fortune Place in the Mandarin Center with Ruth and Stephen. A predecessor restaurant at the same location was a favorite of Anne's (late) Uncle Richard and Auntie Fanny, and we remember having lunch with them a couple of times when they lived in Killarney Heights. We then visited Duke Street, where Stephen and Ruth now live.
Joe and family went to Watson's Bay, and we met up with them at Circular Quay. I wanted to take a ride on the ferry, so I hopped on the one to Darling Harbor when the rest went back to the hotel. It was a pleasant ride. I got off at Pyrmont, and took the lightrail back to World Tower.
Family Selfie.
I took the Circular Quay to Pyrmont Ferry which passed by many familiar sights. These apartments by the Opera House are still quite expensive, I am sure, but they do look a bit dated after 20 or so years.
Luna Park at dusk, with beautiful sunset colors in the background.
View of Darling Harbor from Ferry Terminal at Pyrmont. The place has been completely transformed over the years. To the left is the new Crown Casino, in the middle (brightly lit) are the Barangaroo Towers. The old sailboat (barely visible, a replica of HMB Endeavour) in the right is part of the Australian Maritime Museum at Pyrmont.
8/10 Thursday. Today is travel day, and a full day in the Los Angeles area, a benefit of crossing the international date line in the "right" direction. Our flight was at 9:30 am, and we left the hotel at around 7:30 am to catch the train to the airport. We didn't have time to check out any of the lounges/eateries our UA Elite status or Priority Pass would let us use. Joe's family were taking a Qantas flight (in an A380) that would leave about an hour behind us. Both our flights ended up being delayed by about an hour. As the flights were to land early in the morning LA time, so arriving an hour later than scheduled didn't bother us. In any case, being a "day flight" for Australian time, neither Anne nor I got much sleep on the 14 hour flight.
Taken from our unit at Meriton World Tower at 6:29 am. Sunrise was 6:39 am.
Flight path taken by our flight UA842. Captain did say he had to fly around a storm at the equator.
QF11 took off about an hour later, the flight path was quite different. Different pilots can take different actions, evidently. Or the A380 is heavy enough that it is not bothered by turbulence lighter aircraft try to avoid.
Lunch and breakfast (below) served on UA842.
Somehow we avoided the crunch of international arrivals, and we got through passport control quickly. That I didn't get MPC working didn't slow down the process at all. (Anne's APP worked.) We waited at the terminal for an hour or so before Joe's family exited customs. Then it was off to car rental. Harrison went with us so we could take him to Queen Mary, while the rest would visit Disneyland.
RMS Queen Mary has been sitting in Long Beach since 1967. While I had driven past it a couple of times (I am sure), this was the first time we actually visited. One may feel sorry for the state she's in: much of the decking needs repair or replacement, and there was extensive rusting on the outside. It does have a lot to be proud of, not the least was it's cruising speed of about 33 mph, or it's top speed of 38 mph. Harrison and I took a guided tour of basically the engineering department (tour called "steam and steel"). Harrison was so engaged that he asked a couple of questions.
Queen Mary has a gallery with models of many of ships from that period.
Engine room of the Queen Mary.
A box was built outside the hull so tourists can see the massive propeller. I read the other three propellers have been removed.
Some huge fish (grouper?) were hanging around the ship.
We handed Harrison back to his parents and checked into our hotel room. For dinner Anne and I walked to Tony Roma's for ribs and fried shrimp. One surprise: food doesn't seem to be exorbitantly expensive.
Anne and I had dinner at Tony Roma's. Fried shrimp and ribs.
At about 9:15 pm Disneyland had two fireworks displays going. We had a good vantage point outside our hotel room.
Accommodation: Fairfield Anaheim (2 nights).
8/11 Friday. Today was Disneyland day. First a few words about the "process." Joe Jr forwarded screen shots of two tickets for us, and we used them at the entrance where they were scanned, and photos taken of us for re-entry. We were told we could exercise the Park Hopper option after 11 am. Evidently Joe had made reservations for us to be in California Adventure first. The whole thing is quite compact, so it's as simple as turning left or right after we went through security. The crowds were not bad, so the process was quick. Joe and family stayed at the on-site hotel Grand Californian, to get there we technically had to exit the park and scan back in to re-enter. One could download the Disneyland APP and use it to do various things, including Lightning Lane reservations - Joe took care of that.
All we needed for the day was a screen shot of this ticket.
The first ride I went on was "Soaring," mostly to check out if it would be okay for Anne to go. We had done this one in Disney World, and it was quite tame - basically IMAX theater experienced through a suspended chair that swings back and forth gently. Actually many other rides we did for the day were a lot jerkier than this, and Anne did okay with them. The one that gave me some worry was the "Runaway Train," with cars detaching from one another and going in all different directions; I nearly lost my backpack. To fully enjoy the Disney experience one presumably have to be "in the moment." Otherwise it's just a ride with different sceneries which may or may not be interesting.
We had lunch at the Grand Californian where different Disney characters would stop by. Dinner was at the fast-service restaurant Pym's Test Kitchen. Disneyland Park closes at 10 pm, but we ended the day watching a water/light show near the Pixar Pier which paid tribute to various movie characters over the years. At about 25 minutes it was perhaps 10 minutes too long.
Go through security, turn left for California Adventure, and right for Disneyland Park. Less than 100 yards separate the entrances to the two parks.
Time Stamp: 9:20 am.
Looks like Anne is into character dining. This at Story Teller Cafe at the Grand Californian.
It's a small world.
Spiderman ride. Anne (right screen) outscored me by a lot.
Perhaps I would feel more positive if today wasn't the end of a rather long two weeks. The kids did enjoy the day, and we enjoy seeing them enjoying themselves. Perhaps that's the value proposition of many of these theme parks.
Oh, even for a compact park taken at a relatively leisurely pace, there was still a lot of walking involved. I logged about 7.2 miles on my Apple Watch.
8/12 Saturday. Before one realizes it, the trip has come to an end. After we went through airport security we decided to use Anne's two United Club passes to use the LAX lounge.
Today's LAX-EWR flights were generally chaotic. The two flights before us were both canceled. One of them took off, couldn't retract its landing, and had to return to the airport. Both flights were 757s, probably around 30 years old, so I wonder if that had anything to do with it.
Flight UA2614 did so without a hitch - so sometimes luck or randomness is on our side. It did have to take a longer route to avoid a couple of storms, and we landed a few minutes late. We grabbed a piece of pizza before we took an Uber home.
Not quite gourmet, but a decent meal in Premium Plus.
Typically it's a straight line from LAX to EWR. We had this unusual trek to route around bad weather. The flight time was 4:59 hours, it can be as short as 4 hours (as I experienced in my March trip).
Also unusual to see such headwinds going east. To be fair, I don't know in what direction the plane was flying as I took this shot of the screen.
The first two United LAX-EWR flights were canceled due to equipment problems. The two after ours were delayed. Ours went off without a glitch.
BONUS. Birds that we photographed during this trip. There were quite a few flying about at Wentworth Falls, but I didn't get any photos of them. Some have made appearances earlier in this blog entry.
King Parrot.
Magpie.
(Some kind of) Wattlebird.
Sulphur-crested Cockatoo.
Common rosella and Australian wood duck.
Lyre Bird.
